CDC Relaxes a Number of Cruise Ship COVID-19 Protocols

CDC makes additional revisions to COVID guidelines. - Photo by Canva

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has modified a number of its voluntary COVID-19 guidelines for cruise ship operators. These changes come on the heels of the organization lowering its travel health notice for cruising from Level 3 (High) down to Level 2 (Low). 

Newly released guideline updates from the CDC include the following: 

  • Removing the requirement for cruise ship operators to suspend passenger interactive experiences such as interactive cooking, culinary workshops and demonstrations, mixology/blending classes, and ‘behind the scene’ tours.
  • Changed physical distancing during shore excursions and transportation to a recommendation for Highly Vaccinated and Vaccination Standard of Excellence ships.
  • Updated quarantine cabin guidance for close contacts identified within 36 hours before disembarking. The new protocol states, “If a traveler identified as a close contact is disembarking the ship within 36 hours, the cruise ship operator may allow the traveler to stay in the original cabin if the traveler will be the only person in that cabin.”

Explore the full Technical Instructions for CDC’s COVID-19 Program for Cruise Ships Operating in U.S. Waters here

CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association) said these new updates were a welcome change from the CDC. The organization released the following statement: 

“CLIA cruise line members continue to lead the way in unmatched health and safety measures compared to virtually any other commercial setting. The updates announced today acknowledge the effectiveness of the cruise lines in their ability to create an environment that provides one of the highest levels of COVID-19 mitigation and reflect the improvements in the public health landscape. CLIA member cruise lines will continue to operate in a way that prioritizes the health and safety of everyone onboard, as well as the communities that we visit."

Cruise lines are currently operating under a voluntary COVID-19 program from the CDC. These guidelines, which lines can choose to opt-in or opt-out of, center around classifications defined by the CDC and place cruise ships in specific categories based on guests and crew vaccination status. Based on a ship’s percentage of vaccinated guests, the CDC suggests pre-cruise testing requirements, onboard mask-wearing, and social distancing options.

Most major cruise lines have chosen to opt into the CDC’s COVID-19 guidelines with 110 cruise ships currently marked as participating in the voluntary program. The CDC debuted a Cruise Ship Status Dashboard, which categorizes ships by color based on the vaccination status of guests and reported COVID cases onboard. You can learn more about the status of each cruise ship here

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